In the United States, women comprise just 28 percent of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) workforce. In an effort to tackle the gender gap, the Georgia Girls STEM Collaborative’s network of STEM professionals, researchers and practitioners today selected a K–12 classroom technology company, Boxlight, to provide additional support to organizations throughout the state that encourage girls to pursue STEM careers.

The Georgia Girls STEM Collaborative is based upon a collaborative model developed by the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), which partners with schools, informal educators, educational programs, businesses and industries committed to boosting girls’ engagement in STEM. According to its website, the NGCP assists its collaborates with:

Strengthening the capacity of girl-serving STEM programs;

Increasing program effectiveness by offering professional development focused on sustainability, organizational effectiveness and shared leadership; and

Maximizing school counselors' access to and use of high-quality resources that aim to increase girls’ interest and engagement in STEM.

As the new convening agency for Georgia’s collaborative, Boxlight will work toward “encouraging collaboration and improving inter-program communication among these various organizations and individuals, helping them come together to share practices, develop new collaborations and share resources,” according to a statement from the company.

“Our goal is to strengthen the capacity and increase the continuation of girl-serving STEM programs as well as create a wider audience for gender-related STEM issues,” said Sunshine Nance, Boxlight’s VP of Marketing, in the statement.

There are currently 33 collaboratives across 41 states that are part of the National Girls Collaborative Project. To see the full list, visit the NGCP site.